Recently, a reader asked how the birds are faring with all this snow and ice around us. Answer – they’re doing fine. It’s rough for them for sure, but the local bird population has had thousands, no, tens of thousands, of years to learn the ropes. Of course, there are those who don’t make it. […]
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Ahhhh. So what we received 10 inches of snow Friday and another 8 inches today! According to the almanac, daylight tomorrow will be 3 seconds longer than today. I can almost hear the song of spring migrants in the air. Well, back to reality for now. Backpedaling a bit. Jory and I went out on […]
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On the previous post, I mentioned the new species added to the count’s cummulative total. Here are some of the other highlights from all the groups reporting: Double-crested Cormorant 3 with two of them seen flying with a flock of Canada Geese! As unexpected as this species is in our area in December, the two […]
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Tuesday, December 16th was the date of the Catskill-Coxsackie Christmas Bird Count (CBC). Ten groups of 3 to 5 participants went out into a fairly mild day. But the wind was persistent and penetrating. All in all, we did pretty good though. The total species count by the end of the day was 80 species […]
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Over Thanksgiving Day and week, I traveled south to be with my daughter, my sister and her family in Richmond, Virginia. While in the neighborhood, I went further south to spend a few days with my brother in Greensboro, North Carolina. And then a day trip to South Carolina just to get a deeper sense […]
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Mid-Sunday morning, I received a call from Will Raup that a SNOWY OWL had been seen swimming in the Hudson River by the volunteers aboard the USS Slater. Will went through the usual routine questions to be sure they weren’t watching a gull, goose, or even swan. Will was able to confirm that indeed it […]
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Well, while some neighboring communities got a dusting of snow, we finally got our first frost down here. Ours come later than most of the Capital District because we are a bit further south, and right on the Hudson River. All of that make my mind go to the upcoming holiday season and in terms […]
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Maple leaves are turning gold. Pumpkins stand out in farm fields and frosty air greets the early morning riser. These familiar scenes portend the change of seasons – we’re in the transition from warm to cold. Most of our summer visiting bird species have already left for warmer places to the south. But a few […]
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Each evening, several hundred crows (a mix of both kinds) congregate on top of the tall cottonwoods across from my house. Then just before sunset, the take off in waves to their night roost somewhere west of me. I’ve been watching a Peregrine Falcon flying around during the day today. Peregrine Falcon in flight This […]
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Pardon my French. I think this translates to “Warbler with a gray throat”. That would be very fitting for a warbler that has a gray throat. Eh? But it’s appropriate for a bird that spends some time in French speaking Quebec. But, for some strange reason we call this bird the Connecticut Warbler. Connecticut Warbler […]
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